Weaving loom with vibration damper

ABSTRACT

A weaving loom for forming a fabric that includes two vertically adjacent modules and a damping member mounted therebetween. The lower module contains a mechanism for unwinding warp yarn, forming the shed and unwinding the fabric. The upper module contains a mechanism for inserting the weft, controlling the reed and feeding the resulting fabric.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improvement made to weaving looms,making it possible to reduce the vibrations and noise resulting from theweaving process.

In the rest of the description, the invention will be described withregard to a weaving loom, in which the weft is inserted by means of twogrippers which are introduced simultaneously into the shed from eachside of the loom. One grip per serving for delivering the weft yarn,taken from a bobbin located on one side of the machine, as far as themiddle of the width of the latter, where there is then a transfer to thesecond gripper which, during its retraction, delivers the yarn on theside opposite the feed side. The displacements of the said gripperswithin the shed being ensured by an assembly commonly referred to by theexpression "rapier or flexible band".

It is clear that this is not limiting and that the invention couldequally be applied to other types of weaving looms employing means otherthan positive grippers for ensuring the insertion of the weft.

The production of a fabric involves:

on the one hand, ensuring the unwinding of the sheet of warp yarns, theformation of the shed and the winding-up of the fabric produced, and

on the other hand, inserting the weft yarn when the shed is open andbeating it against the last pick made by means of a reed carried by alay.

It is well known that one of the main problems in weaving is thevibrations and noise level caused by the control and displacements ofthe various elements making it possible to carry out the abovementionedoperations.

Hitherto, the only solution proposed for solving this problem has beento interpose damping systems between the floor and the lower part of theframe of the loom, although these are not entirely satisfactory.

Now a simple and effective solution, making it possible to solve theseproblems of vibration and noise satisfactorily, has been found, thisbeing the subject of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general terms, the weaving loom according to the invention ischaracterized in that the means making it possible to form the fabricare grouped in two superposed modules, between which a damping elementis interposed:

the lower module grouping the means ensuring the unwinding of the lap ofwarp yarns, the formation of the shed (dobby and drawing of the healdframes) and the winding-up of the fabric;

the upper module itself grouping the means ensuring the insertion of theweft, the control of the lay and the take-up of the fabric produced.

By virtue of such a structure, according to which damping is carried outbetween the members having differently (vertically and horizontally)oriented displacements, virtually all the vibrations are eliminated andthe noise level is appreciably reduced.

In one embodiment according to the invention, the damping elementinterposed between the two modules consists, for example, of a layer ofpolyurethane having a thickness of approximately 20 mm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

However, the invention will be better understood from the followingexemplary embodiment illustrated by the single accompanying figure whichis a simplified diagrammatic perspective view of a loom producedaccording to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to this figure, the loom according to the invention istherefore composed, like all weaving looms, of a beam (1) for warp yarns(2), of heald frames (3), the number of which depends on the article tobe produced and which make it possible to ensure the formation of theshed, of a take-up system (5) for the fabric (4) formed and of a rollerfor winding up (6) the said fabric. The warp yarns for forming the shedare controlled by any suitable means, such as, for example, by a dobby(not shown) ensuring the vertical displacements of the heald frames (3).

In the embodiment illustrated, the weft yarn is inserted by means of anassembly comprising two positive grippers (7, 8) arranged on each sideof the loom and introduced simultaneously into the shed, the gripper (7)driving the weft yarn and transferring the end of the latter to thegripper (8) in the middle of the shed by transfer means delivering theweft on the other side of the loom.

The weft introduced against the last pick of the fabric (4) is packed bymeans of a reed (12) mounted on a lay.

Since all the abovementioned means are conventional means, they will notbe described in detail for the sake of simplification.

According to the invention, and in order to reduce the phenomena ofvibration and noise caused by the control and displacements of theabovementioned means for producing the fabric, the said means aregrouped in two superposed modules designated respectively by the generalreferences (13) and (14) the lower module (13) grouping the meansensuring the unwinding of the lap of warp yarns (2), the formation ofthe shed (dobby and drawing of the heald frames (3)) and the winding-upof the fabric (6). The upper module (14) itself is fastened to the lowermodule (13), a damping element (15) being interposed between the base ofthe upper module (14) and the corresponding bearing surface of the lowermodule (13).

This upper module (14) groups the means making it possible to ensure theinsertion of the weft, the control of the lay supporting the reed (12)and the take-up (5) of the fabric formed. The control means areprotected by housings (16) which may be soundproofed.

The rear part of the loom, comprising the beam (1), the yarn carrier,the warp stop motion, the guide for the frames (3) and the centreselvedges, may be mounted on a removable assembly capable of beingfitted to the lower module (13) and making the article changingoperations easier.

Such a loom structure making use of an elastic connection between themembers having differently oriented displacements results in a loweringof the noise level of the loom in comparison with a similar loom whichdoes not have a damping element.

I claim:
 1. A weaving loom for manufacturing fabric that includesa pairof superposed modules that further includes, a lower module having meansfor ensuring unwinding of a lap of warp yarns, formation of a shed andwinding up of the fabric and an upper module having means for ensuringinsertion of a weft, control of a lay supporting a reed and taking up ofthe fabric, and a damping means interposed between the two modules. 2.The loom of claim 1 wherein the damping element includes a layer ofpolyurethane having a thickness of about 20 mm.
 3. The loom of claim 2wherein the upper and lower modules are superimposed one over the otherand said layer of polyurethane is mounted between at least one top wallof the lower module and at least one bottom wall of the upper module.